JPH02227353A - On-vehicle distance measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To inexpensively obtain the title device comprising an optical system, which has a fouling resistance and an ability of a short range measurement by installing a wiper unit for cleaning a transparent plate arranged in front of a distance measuring unit and a headlight. CONSTITUTION:A distance measuring unit 2 arranged near a headlight 1 comprises a convex lens system optical part and a photoelectric element, and a transparent plate 3 is arranged in front of the headlight 1 and the distance measuring unit 2. A wiper blade 4, driven by a drive unit 5, is arranged for cleaning the surface of the transparent plate 3. The surface of the transparent plate 3 arranged in front of the headlight 1 and distance measuring unit 2 is reciprocated in the arrow direction A by the wiper blade 4 driven by the drive unit 5, so that the front surfaces of the headlight 1 and the distance measuring unit 2 can be cleaned at the same time, thus eliminating the necessity to install a new device for preventing the fouling of the distance measuring unit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an optical vehicle-mounted distance measuring device mounted on an automobile.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, attempts have been made to mount distance measuring devices on automobiles for purposes such as self-driving and collision prevention. As this device, radar type, ultrasonic type, and optical type are known.

Of these, the recent remarkable progress in autofocus cameras has made it possible to use the optical system at a very low cost.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, optical distance measuring devices have a major drawback in that if the lens surface becomes dirty, distance measurement becomes impossible, which is fatal when installed in an automobile.

In order to avoid this, it has been attempted to mount it inside the vehicle, but although this allows measurements over medium distances, it is impossible to detect objects in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle.

This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the purpose is to provide a vehicle-mounted distance measuring device that is optical, is resistant to dirt, can measure short distances, and is inexpensive. shall be.

C! Means for Solving Problem I] The vehicle-mounted distance measuring device according to the present invention includes a distance measuring unit installed adjacent to the side of the headlight of the vehicle, and a distance measuring unit disposed in front of the distance measuring unit and the hendride. The present invention is equipped with a transparent plate that has been cleaned and a wiper device that wipes and cleans the transparent plate.

[For production]

The wiper device according to the present invention works to eliminate distance measurement errors of the distance measurement unit due to dirt by wiping and cleaning the surface of a single transparent plate commonly arranged in front of the headlight and the distance measurement unit. .

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof.

In both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, ▪ is a headlight, and 2 is a distance measuring unit installed adjacent to the headlight 1. Although not shown, the distance measuring unit 2 has a convex lens type optical component and a photoelectric element as its main components. Further, 3 is a transparent plate arranged in front of the headlight l and the distance measuring unit 2.

A wiper blade 4 is arranged to wipe the surface of the transparent plate 3, and the wiper blade 4 is driven by a drive unit 5. Thus, the wiper blade 4 and the drive unit 5 constitute a wiper device.

Next, the operation of this invention will be explained. Conventionally, some vehicles have installed a wiper in front of the hand drive section to wipe away dirt from the surface. This is to prevent snow or mud from adhering to the front of the headlights when driving at night when it is snowing or driving on muddy ground, preventing the headlights from illuminating the front of the vehicle.

This invention focuses on the fact that the surface of the headlight is wiped in this way, and a distance measuring unit 2 is installed adjacent to the hendride 1, a transparent plate 3 is arranged in front of these units, and a wiper device is used to wipe the surface of the headlight. The surface is commonly wiped and cleaned.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wiper blade 4 driven by the drive unit 5 wipes the surface of the transparent plate 3 placed in front of the headlight 1 and distance measuring unit 2.
Wipe back and forth as shown in arrow direction A in FIG.

By doing this, the front surface of the headlight l and the distance measuring unit 2 are commonly wiped at the same time, and there is no need to provide a new device for preventing the distance measuring unit 2 from getting dirty.

Furthermore, in passive optical ranging units, the target object must have a certain level of brightness, and at night, if the front of the headlights of your own troops is dirty, it may be difficult to illuminate the target object sufficiently. However, in the above-mentioned embodiment, such a problem is solved.

Note that the wiper blade 4 may be driven by a dirt sensor using another means, but in the case of an optical distance measuring device, if a fixed distance cannot be measured due to dirt etc.,
The message “Unable to measure distance” will be output, so in conjunction with this,
By operating the wiper blade, dirt can be removed automatically.

Further, in the above embodiment, the headlight l, the distance measuring unit 2, and the drive unit 5 are arranged horizontally, but they may be arranged vertically, and it goes without saying that these three do not necessarily have to be arranged on the same line. be.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the distance measuring unit is arranged adjacent to the headlight, and the transparent plate installed in front of these units is configured to be commonly wiped and cleaned by one wiper device. It is resistant to dirt, eliminates distance measurement errors, and has the effect of making the device inexpensive.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle mounting path Ws measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the same embodiment. 1... Headlight, 2... Ranging unit, 3...
・Transparent plate, 4... wiper blade, 5... drive unit. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A ranging unit disposed adjacent to the headlight of the vehicle; a transparent plate disposed in front of the headlight and the ranging unit so as to cover them; and a transparent plate disposed in front of the headlight and the ranging unit to cover the ranging unit. and a wiper device that simultaneously cleans the front of the headlight.